I've spent a great amount of time reading on this forum and have learned a lot so far. Thank you to everyone that contributes!
I grew up with a pool and a hot tub and never had any skin issues. I also owned a small portable hot tub which my wife and I used regularly and never had any issues (Used trichlor tabs in a floating dispenser). When the portable tub developed a leak, we invested in a proper new tub, where my issues started shortly afterwards. Link to Tub
When we first got our new tub, I followed the hot tub store's chemical suggestions which was to simply add dichlor to the water after each use and shock once per week using dichlor as well (after getting the water initially balanced by using PH down and a descaler due to high PH and calcium in our tap water). I started to get itchy spots after bathing which was new to me. After reading this forum, I learned about CYA levels, and mine was off the charts due to using dichlor so frequently, so the chlorine was probably not working well. I did a drain and refill, then starting using a non-chlorine shock one a week instead of shocking with dichlor. Still was experiencing an itch and leaned that some people experience irritation from non-chlorine shock, so decided to go full in on the dichlor then bleach method with nothing else in the water. I used an Aquafiness Purge/Clean tab for 36hrs to ensure any potential biofilms were broken down, then drained and refilled. My tap water has a super high PH on initial fill, so I even switched to using muriatic acid to initially lower the PH to ensure no other ingredients were being left behind in the water. So my current water was balanced perfectly with muriatic acid to lower PH, used dichlor initially for just over a week to establish the CYA level, then bleach ever since. The water has remained perfectly in balance with perfect readings, has been easy to maintain, and has been crystal clear.
... But I still get itchy (My wife has had no issues whatsoever since the beginning, it's only been me). I'm confident that my itch is NOT hot tub Folliculitis as the symptoms are different. I do not have red bumps. The itch starts as very very tiny white bumps that are incredibly itchy. The area then begins to look more like mild eczema, but very very itchy. If I scratch, the area becomes 100x worse. Continuing to use the tub makes it worse. If I stop using the tub completely for over a week, the itching goes away. I've tried showering afterwards, using moisturizers, etc with no change.
I'm not sure what to do... part of me thinks it's a reaction to the chemicals, but how did I not experience this with my old portable tub (which i used almost daily)? Should I try Bromine or a different chemical system?